Bible Locations

Zephath was a Canaanite town in the Negev, captured by the tribes of Judah and Simeon. Judges 1:17 says, "Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah." Hormah means "destruction" or "devoted to destruction." Earlier, after the spies' bad report, the Israelites had tried to enter the land against God's command and were beaten back "as far as Hormah" (Numbers 14:45). Later, Israel vowed to destroy the Canaanite cities there, and God gave them victory (Numbers 21:3). Zephath means "watchtower." Its location is uncertain. Suggestions include Tel Masos, or Khirbet el-Meshash, east of Beersheba, where excavations found an early Iron Age village, and Tel Halif, north of Beersheba.